I'd say I have a happy life here in Kunming, but harmonious? Hmmm...The never-ending noise really gets on my nerves at times. For example, the two chemist shops over the road from my flat who seem to compete with each other using automatic megaphones to blast out their latest deals, over and over again. More than once I've gone across and simply disconnected their machines, shouting at the owner that I can't sleep, work or hear my TV! It's most unlike me to be so aggressive! They usually turn the speakers back on after I've left, though often at a lower volume for a while at least. And the other day, the blare from the shops was joined by a placard-waving shop assistants parading down the street to advertise some deal or other [see photo]. Strangely, a lot of Chinese people I've spoken to about this say they really enjoy the noise, the hustle, the bustle and the packed crowds, saying it's all part of an "exciting shoppping experience". Must be just me then!

Senseless? Well no, not really. It's certainly an expensive and huge undertaking to survey all of China's 1.34 billion population (including me), but it has thrown up some interesting statistics:For example, half of all Chinese now live in a city (up from a third in 2000). And there are double the number of migrant workers (farmers who move to cities to find work) than ten years ago. China's overall population is growing, but only very slowly. Worryingly though, the percentage of elderly citizens has grown from 10% to over 13% and there are 12 boys for every 10 girls. So some problems in store for the future, perhaps.

I need to be quicker with my camera. Only yesterday I managed to miss potentially classic photos of an electric scooter carrying another electric scooter on its luggage rack, a truck full of water buffalo bumping its way down my road, and a restaurant specialising in frog hotpot.

Instead, I've had to make do with this shop's unique signs, wishing us a Merry Christmas (in late April) and declaring themselves to be closed at "pm9: 00-am9: 00"!? This was the shop where Jiajia and I finally decided to buy our new wardrobes ...until we went back to one further shop and plumped for theirs instead. After visiting five furniture stores, we've finally settled for the very first wardrobes we saw, some two months ago. Isn't that always the way?

One of the advantages of keeping a daily diary (as I have done for the past 35 years) is that you can quicly glance back over what you were up to in previous years. 21st April has always been an odd day for me.

Four years ago, a bird flew into my flat and I had all sorts of problems getting it out. Three years ago I was dancing in a Swan Lake ballet for my school, in front of the mayor of Kunming. Two years ago I spent the day in hospital with gout. Last year I was watching 80 dwarves dance and sing at "Dwarf Empire". And this year (not quite as amazing), I had my first night-time mosquito of the year - quite late arriving this year.

Fun and games last night in the Zhu household as a truckload of furniture arrived - yes, Jiajia's been buying stuff again! Having trailed around multiple furniture shops in Kunming, Jiajia spotted what she really wanted while in Shenzhen, bought it on the spot and arranged for it to be shipped to Kunming. She got a heavily discounted price, of course, and it is good quality stuff. Matching crockery too! The delivery man and I managed to lug it all up two flights of steps and into the flat (inflicting minor damage ...oops!) and then we unpacked and assembled it all.

The old table was then removed (with me smashing the glass top in the process ...it was heavy!). But the bedroom table was too large and heavy to get up the staircase. We are going to try and get some local workers to lift it over the balcony rail with ropes! Now that doesn't sound dangerous, does it?

We've had some very odd weather in Kunming these last few months. Last month my parents witnessed snow flurries a day after getting sunburnt. And then yesterday, amidst a dry week of sunshine, we had a sudden half hour of hailstones! My lesson went to pieces as many of my students hadn't seen them before.I occasionally mention my various health problems on this blog, so it's nice to be able to report that I seem to be feeling fairly well these days. No neck pains or dizziness for a while and I've recovered from the gout attack I had a couple of weeks ago. I suspect that the instant this entry is published, some new ailment will become apparent but, for now, I'm enjoying the moment and getting back to regular gym visits!

I saw this guy in the street the other day. The jars were held on on his head by suction, having had a small piece of cotton wool burned inside to create a vacuum. He looked like something out of a sci-fi show, but I suspect it was an attempt at remedying a headache or something! I wonder if he had to shave off his hair first for it to be effective? Or was he conveniently bald already? We'll never know!

And here's is my own UFO picture, taken last week. It just looks like a dot in the photo, but seeemed bigger with the naked eye. It was hovering for a while and then started to rise gently upwards. A little bit of computer magnification back home and I think I can see some sort of smoke trail from the bottom of the circle shape. Was it making a desperate attempt to gain altitude, or was something leaking from the engine? Hard to say.

I've had aliens on my mind recently! The subject cropped up twice in school textbooks last week, leading to some fascinating tales from students of strange lights and shapes which they, or their friend or family member, have seen. I am also watching the latest seasons of Fringe and The Event on CD these days, which are full of strange goings on. And my (Chinese) friend Emily sent me these photos recently. She went on an trip to see the famous rapeseed fields near Kunming but, when her photos were developed, she noticed a lot of flying objects that she hadn't spotted at the time. She thinks they might have been birds but, on magnification, I'm not so sure. In my experience, birds tend to flock together, and aren't oval-shaped!

The latest craze here is for pet owners to paint their animals as something else. Apparently, they even have competitions for it. I say if you want a tiger then go get one. Don't just settle for a painted dog. Still, this hound looks happy enough and I bet it scares the cats!

The hotel opposite my flat ofen hosts weddings. The red dragon-adorned shape on display above the steps [see photo] are the Chinese characters for "double happiness". Less welcome, perhaps, is the fact that hotels often book two weddings at the same time, leading to the odd sight of two couples facing each other outside the entrance, trying to work out whose guests are who. I'd find that quite demeaning, but it seems commonplace and acceptable here.

Me: "I have an Affidavit appointment"Receptionist: "After David? David who?"Once the initial confusion was overcome, my paperwork was completed smoothly by 10.30am, leaving me 14 hours before my flight back to Kunming. So I headed for Ci Qi Kou Ancient Village:

This is a Ming Dynasty town an hour from ChongQIng which has been preserved and restored. Some streets were clearly for tourists, selling a variety of trinkets, but walk further and things start to look a little more authentic and "lived-in".

The highlight for me was the BaoLun Temple in the centre of the old town, overlooking the hustle and bustle. It was very peaceful and, at 1500 years old, pleasantly faded. The contrast between ChongQing's modern and ancient was very evident [see photo, left].